DeSantis’s asylum seekers’ flights under investigation in Texas, California

Florida Division of Emergency Management reports migrants ‘indicated they wanted to go to California’

SACRAMENTO, Cal. – Gov. Ron DeSantis’s migrant relocation program was under investigation in Texas and California, but he didn’t say anything about it during a public event on Tuesday.

The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office announced prosecutors were reviewing the alleged cases of unlawful restraint that were related to flights to Massachusetts.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s investigation includes the two recent flights to Sacramento with about three dozen asylum seekers from Venezuela and Colombia.

On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom threatened kidnapping charges and referred to DeSantis, who recently launched his official campaign for the Republican 2024 presidential candidate nomination, as a “small, pathetic man.”

Before DeSantis launched his campaign on Twitter, he signed a law funding the relocation program with the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Vertol Systems, an aviation company based in Destin, is one of the state contractors involved.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management released a video of the asylum seekers and a statement saying that “through verbal and written consent, these volunteers indicated they wanted to go to California.”

A federal lawsuit on behalf of the migrants by Lawyers for Civil Rights, a Boston-based nonprofit organization, alleged the relocation program violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin.

DeSantis avoided reporters when he signed Bill 262 into law to create a “Digital Bill of Rights,” also known as the “Technology Transparency” law, which Florida Republicans have said will help social media users protect personal data.

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About the Authors:

Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.